Integrated circuits communicate with each other through electrical signals. As integrated circuits are developed, many different signaling type standards have been defined that specify the expected characteristics of the electric signals. The signaling type typically defines a reference voltage (or level) and duty cycle for the electrical signals. Examples of signaling types are stub-series terminated logic (SSTL), Rambus signaling level (RSL), HSTL, LVDS and DRSL (differential Rambus signaling level).
Integrated circuits (ICs) include, or are connected to, output drivers that generate output signals according to the desired signaling type. Output drivers typically include a pre-driver that ensures the output signal has the correct duty cycle and a driver that ensures the output signal is amplified to the appropriate level.
There are many different factors that can affect the electric signals sent between devices. For example, the packaging methodology for an integrated circuit can affect the electric signals that are sent from the integrated circuit. Therefore, it would be beneficial to be able to tune an output driver to accommodate the packaging methodology that has been utilized. Additionally, it would be beneficial to allow a particular circuit to communicate with a variety of other circuits utilizing different signaling types.